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I have to finish up my trip!

I have to finish up my trip!

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Day 6

day 6 was the day where we see the wild differences in types of travelers that i’m related to. this was our lazy day, or as our travel group likes to call it, jane’s day off. jane’s day off should’ve been the day prior, but it was a lovely day and this day was rainy.

on these days, lori and i have a plan. liz and jane stay at home or lie on the beach or generally do nothing. kari decided she was on the liz and jane fence. i could go either way on these things, but i do enjoy myself a good museum trip, so lori and i headed down to old town and spent the 13 euro for a tour of a collections museum, the belltower, cathedral, and baptismal room/building. lori took one step into the collections museum and said “already worth 13 euros!” and no doubt.

there were FLOORS of old stuff. and you know what the most amazing old stuff was? there were so many relics. bones of saints that the catholic church would put in churches to make them ultra holy. we saw relics of peter and paul, mary and joseph (maybe, and maybe there was someone in 500AD who had a real racket going on).

the cathedral had an old floor on top of an older floor, and multiple crypts, both in the floor and above the floor. and so ornate! it was so odd because this old church was built on top of an even older church. they had excavated parts of the floor so you could see the original floor, which was mosaic and beautiful.

then we went to the top of the belltower. we had watched the “somebody feeds phil” croatia episode a couple times in preparation for croatia, and one thing he did was climb the belltower. so we did! it was tall, but i did my best to not look down. the stairs on the way up were first very tall, narrow, and made of stone, then they had put in metal scaffolding type stairs. at least they were stairs that fit my feet and normal height, so i managed to feel a little safe 🙂

we got to the top and had quite the view!

all the was left was the baptismal building, which was being overtaken by a senior tour from spain. after they left, we took a look at the giant baptismal fount, then we were done with our cultural experience for the morning.

we called those other yahoos to see what they were up to, and they were out shopping and having lunch, which definitely tracks 🙂 lori and i had lunch at a little cafe with excellent salami, then we found liz so i could some shopping too (see how i just flipflop all over). lori went back to the airbnb for a snooze.

while shopping, i found some shoes for work! i can now say i have european leather loafers.

that night, we ordered food to have delivered. it had been rainy all day and we were really embracing the lazy day, so it was fine. we had some thai food and played card games.

day 7

this ended up being my favorite day. we were hesitant because when we signed up for this boat excursion, it was 9 hours long, and hooo boy were we ready for that? but yes we were! We got on a doubledecker boat with a bunch of other people of varying backgrounds. the boat took off and we were on the water for about an hour while we had a donut, then arrived at a little lagoon where we anchored and could jump in the water to check out a “shipwreck” from 2012. i chose to stay on the boat with jane and got a beer.

then back on the boat for another leisurely hour or so with lunch. the second island was coming up at that point, where we docked again and had an hour and a half to swim or do whatever. i hopped in this time and swam around hoping it might warm up with my activity, but no such luck. i got out, and at this point, the unlimited wine had been opened. i grabbed a couple glasses and hopped on the top deck and sat in the sun to dry off and read. lovely!!

with that swimming stop finished, we were on the boat once again for a bit, and the next stop was a beach bar, another fantastic stop. we had a couple drinks in an open-air bar which had net hammocks over the sea, and the sun on its way to setting.

the lsat leg of the journey was a longer time back to split, and we watched the sun set on the adriatic. the boat docked and we just went to a restaurant that was close to the dock. i got one last lemon radler along with some carbonara.

then it was time to pack. UGH. i did a lot better than packing after california though!

more from croatia!

more from croatia!

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day 4

on tuesday, we had scheduled an adventure way back when we first booked the trip. it’s nice to have someone tell you about an area you know nothing about and to see things that you might not see otherwise. we were off to one of croatia’s national parks (krka), a stop at a little town with a river excursion, and finishing up the day with a wine and cheese tasting.

the tour left later morning, so we up-and-at-em’ed and out the door to walk to the tour office with enough sleep in our systems. lori, liz, and i left a little earlier to check out a bit more of old town and also make sure our firday excursion was booked.

we packed onto a bus with several other people of different background but with a shared language of english (we probably could’ve also managed with spanish, but that tour wasn’t offered), and we were off.

we stopped at the small town first, and lori and checked out the town and climbed to the top of a fort lookout where the view was spectacular. we only had about an hour there, so we headed back down to the beach, i got a bottle of olive oil, and then we boarded a boat to cruise into krka national park.

it was a SMALL national park, and the big draw was the waterfalls. there were so many people visiting (i can’t imagine what it’s like in the summertime), so it was just packed. it was interesting doing the walking loop around the park – so many things in croatia are just, here, if you die you die – there was a wooden plank boardwalk to follow that had no handrails or anything to prevent you from yeeting off the side. i can just see someone in the US falling over and suing NPS. also, accessibility is definitely not a thing!

at the end of the boardwalk, i dropped into the small gift shop and got a magnet to add to my national park collection (i have no stipulations on WHAT nation), then we all sat at a restaurant and had some drinks while we awaited our departure time.

back to the bus (after waiting for one guy who missed the place where we were supposed to depart) and off to a small vineyard for wine tasting. the wine was okay (i’m not a big wine fan) but the cheese and bread were delicious!!! i bought a chunk of cheese.

the ride home was quiet and sleepy, and i once again got separated from everyone else (as jane yelled “sorry kate” unconvincingly) and snoozed against the window as we drove a little over an hour back to split.

before we left split proper, we got more gelato and stopped at a bakery to pick up some baked goods because omg, no GMO-wheat is delicious. no railings and no FDA regulations. living life on the wild side in europe.

day 5

we had to base so much of our time on the weather because there was rain and some cooler weather and some warmer weather, which was ok; that meant that jane’s typical down day was a day that we had to do something, though. on wednesday, we cruised over to hvar.

we debated whether or not to go after i realized that each ferry trip was 25euro and not a round trip, but we decided to bite the bullet. and we were glad we did!

when we got off the ferry in hvar, there was a stone sidewalk lined with palm trees that led the eye up to a hill with a fort atop. so we went to the fort after having brunch. after climbing stairs up through a narrow passage through town, the path switchbacked up the final hill for quite the view of the harbor and the adriatic.

we thought we’d had enough of stairs at that point, but joke was on us! we wanted to go to a beach, and the way to the beach had an unbelievable number of stairs. no one counted, but it was a lot. then maps told us “yay you’re at the beach!” but turns out now you have to go down a harrowing journey over rocks and more rocks back DOWN the elevation you just went up. thank goodness there was a bar and a beach at the bottom. we spent a couple hours there swimming, lounging, having strong drinks. then took an uber back to hvar proper.

lori and i scoped out a place to eat while the others had a break, and it was delightful weaving through the small stone corridors and seeing all the little eateries. it was a bit odd eating earlier than 8 p.m., but by 6 we were starving and found a place with good oysters, good mussels, good gnocchi, and grilled scampi that liz nearly had a meltdown over. (apparently, scampi at olive garden is pasta??? at red lobster, it’s buttery garlic shrimp only, so i’m not sure where the disconnect was. either way, she was horrified when heads-on prawn came to her placement.)

gelato time, and we watched as the fort atop the hill lit up in the darkening evening. on the last ferry, we were able to grab a table for all of us, and we got to split about 9 p.m. and glad we sprung for the ferry rides.

ok…i’m back for a little bit from croatia

ok…i’m back for a little bit from croatia

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i hate not blogging while traveling. it’s a great way to document what happens each day while i remember what happens each day so i can go back and relive the experience. and even though i’m already on day 5 or 6 of this current adventure, it’ll still be more fresh in my brain than next week!

day 1 – travel day

ugh, talk about a long weird day. friday, i went to work in the morning because i needed to see my worker pal who had been gone for two weeks so i could tell her what was up, along with followup and finish a few other things. i got out of there at 11:30 and headed to the shuttle, which is the best thing i discovered for when i’m traveling alone.

shuttle, uneventful, but i got to the airport almost four hours before takeoff (the alternative was and hour and a half before takeoff, which, scary). after the longest time i’ve ever spent in MSP security, i got through and met up with the croatia crew!!! yeah!! croatia here we come!

the first plane leg was 8 hours long but took 15 hours of our time with the time change. we landed in amsterdam for an hour and change layover and a long line through customs, and loaded our second leg plane (which had an egg sandwich for its in-flight snack!). then off to croatia!

after getting to the airbnb after some uber and taxi finagling, the first order of business was a brief nap. brief so that we slept that night, otherwise we’d never acclimate to the time. the second order of business was to find a place to eat and a grocery store, and we accomplished both! the food already was phenomenal.

sunday we had no plans yet, so we checked out the beach. one thing that i expected but didn’t realized how much was the amount of walking we’d be doing. which is ok. we’re eating a lot of good stuff. from our airbnb, it’s about a mile to the start of anything decent and two to get to the ferry and past all the good stuff. then we have to walk back. so we’ve been walking 8 miles a day.

day 3 – monday

BEACH DAY! monday was supposed to be the sunniest and warmest day, so time to pack our bags for the beach. first, we had to scope out which beach we wanted to be at, so we went the opposite way of the other beach, found a way to the water, and found a nice (probably ancient) walkway on the coast that wound all the way around to a beach with a road that popped out a half a block from our road. well.

it was windy but sunny and warm and the pebbles on the beach were white and the water was azure and the water was salty and boats sailed or chugged past and some ladies were topless and people were drinking on the beach and smoking and how very mediterranean. (and there were no railings or accessible anything to get there and crumbly rocks and so old and how very un-USA.)

i went in up to my waist and couldn’t do it, but the others dipped in. i lay on the beach and read a book. the sun is warm here, but it’s september sun on the same latitude as MN and at sea level, so it’s not a strong sun. i have stopped putting on sunscreen.

wind and water and sun take it out of you, so we got back after a couple hours and took a siesta. after that, it was time to get gussied up and we headed into old town, which is a fort, basically, that was split back in the day (the day being a millennia ago). it’s full of narrow streets and corridors and small rooms which have been turned into shops and restaurants. on the way there, we stopped at a bar facing the yachts in the harbor, then found some street food! the BEST gyro i’ve ever had in my life (unsurprisingly).

on the way back, we realized that we’ve been missing out on the gelato life, so we got some gelato and vowed to get some every day til we left. it was dark when we left old town, and the ferry was lighted up, and you could see the towns along the other coasts, then the moon was shining on the water and was reminiscent of moonlight on snow (but that’s getting ahead of ourselves).

we ended the day was a handsome streetcat, which is a blog post in itself, but a teaser for you.

more later. i have to go do stuff!

new chapter?

new chapter?

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i was thinking about the fact that i haven’t blogged since jan. 1.

and this is the 20th anniversary of me blogging.

that’s a lot of years of putting my thoughts out in the internet for all to see. and the internet has had its ups and downs, mostly downs i think.

so instead of this just becoming a dead blog, i think i’m going to archive everything on wordpress.com and move to a newsletter format instead. that way i won’t feel any pressure to blog publicly. those of you who want to stay connected can as i feel compelled to write something of note. and if you really want to stay on top of what i’m doing, the best way these days is instagram, though that’s really sparse these days too. no facebook. no twitter. hmm.

you’re gonna have to wait for my christmas card.

anyway, i think those of you who are signed up to get emails are in a list on my wordpress so i can make an email list if i want to do some newslettery type of thing.

or maybe we go back to written letters? like i said, the internet is getting weird again (which may be my first newsletter).

anyway, if you want to NOT receive a newsletter, and you got this email in your inbox, send me a note: katewallace@gmail.com

I’m going to stop my webhost renewal and hope that calms down the weird hackers that always seem to like to take over my site.

happy 20th anniversary of blogging – kate out?

another year, another list

another year, another list

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i don’t know if i should continue with these “resolutions” or not. revisiting them is always fun at the end of the year, but do they actually hold some level of accountability? i’m not sure. well, we’ll do it for 2024 i guess.

hey! it’s the 20th (TWENTIETH) year of blogging! wow. ok, well that occasion warrants a list. what’s going on in 2024?

  1. read more books. or just continue to read books. i hit an all-time high this year for books read, though i would guess it doesn’t hold a candle to 15-year-old kate who read every single extra moment of the day. as an adult, i’ll take 72 books in a year! aside from quantifying, it’s just a good idea to keep reading.
  2. keep on traveling! i hit that one last year, and there are plans to do more this year. i have a work conference and liz’s 40th birthday trip (delayed) that are already in the works. who knows what else???
  3. keep on running. we are doing a destination ragnar this year over to michigan during the solstice. that should be fun and a new experience. we’ll see how it compares to wisconsin trail!
  4. i may try to do the yoga every day again. it’s a worthwhile endeavor, and i notice when i don’t do it everyday. additionally, i need to start more weight training, so i want to try to do that every other day (maybe on the off day of running). i have a 15-lb kettlebell i’ve been using with youtube vids, but if anyone has recommendations for something else, i’ll take it.
  5. do something with nate. i don’t think we did much this year aside from him taking a week off over thanksgiving. i’ll have to think of something!

that’s a decent list of “resolutions” – i wonder if i make them pretty and print them out if i would be more mindful? i mean, most of them are things i’m already doing, but it’s nice to see them.

anyway, happy 2024.

WHOOPS year in review!

WHOOPS year in review!

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i somehow thought i had more time, i guess, and did not do my year in review yesterday! it was on my mind, cuz i did my books of the year, but apparently my mind had a different idea.

so, let’s review 2023.

  1. i am not going to list take more pictures in my to-do list anymore. or maybe i need to reframe what i consider pictures. i take a ton of pics on my phone, so maybe i need to stop thinking i need to get out the fancy cam. the best camera you have is the one you have with you.

    this was a good plan because i did not take more pics on my big camera. i went places and deliberately chose not to bring my big camera because it was too much. i DID go out and take pics of the northern lights with my cam. so that’s something? anyway, i like the idea of letting this one go.
  2. travel! i will hit the nail on the head with this one – i already have a trip planned for next week to orlando with my sisters. there will also be a week at the lake and hopefully something else! i want to get to a few more state parks this summer, too.

    got this one in! we did go to orlando, which was super fun. we ended up going to disney, universal, the ocean, some went to disney again, and we all went to universal again.

    then two months later, i went BACK to orlando for a work conference and went back to universal. what a time to be alive.

    i did go camping a couple times over the summer – i went to whitewater in SE MN and then i went up to savanna portage west of duluth for some outdoor time and some hiking. and of course the week on the lake for the derry reunion.

    then in october, i went to palm springs for another work conference, and after it was over, i drove to the coast so i could spend a night in dana point (where lesley fightmaster lived), look at the ocean, and then drive down to san diego to fly out.

    then in november, i went BACK to california with megan to fulfill my dream of going to yosemite national park – which was awesome! 5 stars, would recommend yosemite. we should’ve stayed one more day.

    i think i nailed this one.
  3. figure out what to do my my yoga teacher certification. i don’t know if i start a youtube channel, talk to some studios in the area, or just start yoga in the park and see who shows up? we’ll see what i’m compelled to do.

    well, so far all i’ve done is do some yoga at work for various events. i do it about once a month and it’s super easy. it’s something, though.
  4. meditate more. when i was doing it regularly for my class, it was really easy to do it anytime, but that slipped away and i’d like to get back into doing it more regularly.

    i forgot about this one! i do try to pay attention more and to be more present. and i did meditate occasionally. but it’d be good to do it more.
  5. keep on running. i’ve been slacking the past couple months, and i have to get back into it to get going for the earth day half in april. real training starts in february! and i don’t know if we’re doing ragnar this year 🙁 we may be trying something else, but the ragnar experience has declined. booo.

    ugh, so i have kept on running, but i have been slacking even more. the earth day half was terrible again, weather wise. the granddad half looked to be an opportunity to redeem ourselves, but injury held us back. and i didn’t do any other races. and i have REALLY been slacking since the beginning of october when i had a cold. time to kick it into gear.
  6. just keep looking for opportunities. resolutions are bunk, as are to-do lists. (hold-up: lists aren’t bunk.) keep your eyes open and see what’s out there.

    to-do lists are NOT bunk. but really, just see what’s up and what you can do to make it better and keep on keepin on.
books of 2023

books of 2023

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ah yes, the time of the year when we round up our favorites into a nice little list. it may seem cliche, but i really like it! and how better to embrace my nerdiness than with my top books of the year.

first of all, i have to say that this past year was the year i’ve read the most books and pages in my goodreads challenge. so that means that my list of recommended 5-star books this year is long!

carrie soto is back – taylor jenkins reid

at this point, i will read anything written by TJR. even her early books, which are not as good (IMO) as her more recent, i still enjoyed. anyway, my review for this book was that only she could get me to read 350 pages about a tennis star. her way with words and storytelling just wins me over every time i pick up a book of hers. this is a stand-alone story, but it’s set in the same world as malibu rising, daisy jones, and the 7 husbands of evelyn hugo. well, each of those are their own stand-alone story, but they each reference characters from the others.

sea of tranquility – emily st. john mandel

this is a gorgeous little book about the circular, mind-boggling nature of time travel that starts in the forests of canada in the 1800s and goes to the moon in the future.

mandel’s prior book, station eleven, was also a 5-star read for me, so as soon as i saw this was released, i had to pick it up to read. it does not disappoint! it’s a calm sort of mystery and concludes with such satisfaction. time is a construct!

the house in the cerulean sea – tj klune

every now and then, you just need a little grown-up fairy tale to give you a rush of happiness, and klune tends to be able to do this with everything he writes. this is my second book of his i’ve read, and when i say grown-up fairy tale, i mean that it’s fantastical and whimsical in a thick book with small type. we follow the story of linus as he finds out that there’s more to life than the city and a neatly organized collection of records.

such a happy, fun read to page through when you feel like you need a little pick-me-up.

the invisible life of addie larue – VE schwab

another time-drifting story in my 5-star pile this year. we follow addie’s life over hundreds of years as she figures out how she can make a mark because no one remembers her the day after they meet her (she made an unfortunate deal when young). then she meets someone who does remember her! we get flashbacks to her past life as she wandered the world interspersed with the current plot of how does this person remember her? in the end, all the questions are answered.

fire keeper’s daughter – angeline boulley

BOOK OF THE YEAR.

and it takes a lot to beat taylor jenkins reid. i LOVED this book. it addresses so much about life as an american indian in sault ste. marie in michigan.. it’s set in 2008 and follows daunis, a biracial 18-year-old, whose life is derailed by a murder and all the events that follow. from murder, to drug use, to traditions, to feeling like an outsider, to misogyny, this book is FANTASTIC. it’s dense, for a YA novel, but i could not put it down.

if you want to read more native authors, this is a great place to start.

warrior girl unearthed – angeline boulley

boulley’s “sequel” to fire keeper’s daughter, warrior girl unearthed is also an excellent read (tho not my book of the year quality) that follows daunis’ niece perry in a more present day time. we watch perry as she learns about her ancestors and artifacts, and how she tries to get back what is rightfully her tribe’s. reading this and learning more about how much of natives’ property is still in museums and especially personal collections just makes me so angry at people. and i’m going to try to be very particular about what museums i visit going forward.

ink blood sister scribe – emma torzs

oh, would you like a little witchy mystery book with enchanted magical books, family secrets, rich housebound dudes, and creepy old men who use a femur as a piece of a frame for a portrait? this book is for you!

i really dove into the fantasy genre again this year, what with reading fourth wing and addie larue, which was really weird after taking a very long break to ready contemporary, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic books for many many years. ink blood sister scribe is one of the best ones i read this year!

from the viewpoint of two sisters and the housebound richie rich, we figure out how things wind together while the secrets unravel.

braiding sweetgrass – robin wall kimmerer

i attribute my high book read rate this year to reading a lot more fiction than i normally do, as when i read books to learn, i don’t generally champ at the bit to get home to read. but, this book i wanted to drag out. i read braiding sweetgrass in bed before i went to sleep, one essay at a time.

kimmerer’s lyrical writing really makes the wisdom and knowledge of the natural world come alive and really drives home how we are not so much stewards of the earth but one of and with the earth and all its inhabitants. this is the second book this year where i read about the mass extinction that’s happening right now among bugs and amphibians (have you noticed as much bug splatter on your windshield?), but in such a way that you want nothing more than for humans to sit in communion with nature and the wild. because we are nature and the wild. big recommend on this one if you’re up for essays about science, nature, and american indian knowledge.

the end!

is it christmas?

is it christmas?

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not feeling like christmas? yeah, me neither. the weather is just terrible for that good ol’ christmas feeling. it’s march-like, and since covid, who even knows what year it is.

so i’ve been watching almost nothing but christmas movies, and none of the hallmark variety. the tree is up, the decor is out, i’ve made some christmas cookies. i even have a new cat.

poor ralf finally kicked it. but welcome willow, who seems to be channeling chasey in her grumpiness. and her smartness. this cat is almost always up to no good.

and stan just wants to be friends, of course.

a late travelblog

a late travelblog

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i don’t know if i’ve ever traveled as an adult just to visit a national park. well, that happened about a week ago! yosemite national park has been on my list for a while, and megan and i headed out to california to check it out.

we left late morning from MSP and landed about 1:30 in san francisco. after getting our car, we checked out a sourdough bread place, then the beach, then we were able to get into our airbnb, which i think was either in an asian district, or there are so many people of asian descent in sanfran that it stood out to me. we had supper at a vietnamese restaurant with some amazing pho!

the next day we headed over to yosemite, which is about a 4-hour drive from sanfran. we stopped at a super cute cafe for breakfast first, where i had a bagel smothered in cream cheese, avocado, and bacon. delish! then onward to inland!

on the way we stopped at a roadside fruit stand, which has plenty of fruit, pies, poinsettias, jam, pumpkins, and was a good way to distract from the acres of almond farms we were driving past.

the trip into the mountains was harrowing. we were on the outside lane of a two-lane road on the side of a mountain that just got higher and higher and higher, and let me tell you, i was about ready to quit. but we made it through and up and then into the mountains! and then…

there it is – el capitan. you can’t describe the immensity or capture it in a pic. it’s just ginormous.

we ended up staying in curry village, which is comprised of some lodges, cafes, and a bunch of white canvas square-frame tents. i had the foresight to spring for the heated tent, which was a good thing because it got cold at night!

the first full day in yosemite it rained. it was pretty terrible outside, so we checked out the gift shops and museums, as well as watched the informational video about how the park was formed. we tried to go on a bus tour, but after getting the runaround about 10 times, it was full. boo!

the next day, however, was pretty awesome. the above pic was the view from the walkway that led from our tent to the lodge. that morning, we were on a mission to be able to get to the base of yosemite. after a failed first attempt, the second did the trick.

there was a lot of hiking over big rocks and tricky maneuvers, but thanks to the hiking poles i had the foresight to bring, we got to the base!

that rock is sheer. i don’t know how people climb it! then we headed to the mist trail/john muir trail, where we climbed up and up and up and up along a paved path to check out a waterfall. there was a lot of uphill and it was not fun. but the views were great when we got up there, and good news – it was all downhill from there.

then on monday, we packed up early and left yosemite valley. we took a different route home, which was much less harrowing, and we got to the airport around 2:30, took off a half hour late due to medical, and then we got to MSP about 10:30. it was a short trip, but it was a good one! also, highly recommend yosemite.

ummm…kablpomo??

ummm…kablpomo??

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obviously kate’s blog posting month is not happening this year. but that’s ok. i get my writing time in at work these days!

so, a few updates on what’s been going on at casa de kate and nate.

well, casa de nate is him working 10-hr shifts cuz he can’t say no. BUT he has the week of thanksgiving off, so that’s great. for him

cuz i’m headed to yosemite national park next thursday-monday! megan and i are finally going on a trip together, something she’s been trying to get me to do for years. so i’m hoping you’ll be able to get some travelblog posts out of me those days. we’re flying into san fran early thursday afternoon, spending the night there, then yosemite on friday, saturday, and sunday night. flying back monday, at which point i will be executing super secret plan that i’m not going to disclose just in case.

meanwhile, nate will be hanging with the cats at home. i’m coming back on tuesday, and then thursday will be thanskgiving already???? like, i know time flies and all that arrow nonsense, but holeeeee mackerel.

my goal is to get a costco rotisserie chicken this year. last year they didn’t get their chicken shipment, which blows.

oh! and i got a new ear piercing – my conch on my right side. i’ve been eyeing that one for a while, and while it hurt like a banshee scream doing it, the healing process has been SUPER AWESOME. if you want a quick healing piercing, that’s the one to get.

anyway. kate out.